ISLAMABAD — Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Wednesday strongly rejected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s recent statements regarding the legitimacy of the 2018 general elections, terming his remarks a “tacit admission” of the alleged mandate theft in the February 2024 elections.
The political dispute erupted after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, addressing the National Assembly, responded to Opposition Leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai’s allegations of the current government being “illegitimate.” The Premier asserted that if the government formed after the 2018 polls was considered legitimate, then the incumbent administration held the same status, calling for an investigation into the 2018 electoral process.
In a sharp counter-statement, PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram accused the Prime Minister of political acrobatics and selective memory. Akram argued that while PTI founder Imran Khan had openly offered to audit any controversial constituency after the 2018 elections, the current coalition government remains terrified of any transparent scrutiny, biometric verification, or forensic audit of the 2024 results. He challenged the government to conduct a judicially supervised audit of both the 2018 and 2024 elections to determine the genuine public mandate.
Allegations of Financial Irregularities in BISP
Turning to economic governance, the PTI spokesperson raised serious alarms over massive financial discrepancies allegedly uncovered in the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), citing the Auditor General of Pakistan’s report for the financial year 2024-25.
Akram claimed that more than Rs 25 billion had been distributed through illegal and highly suspicious channels, including Rs 3.17 billion spent without required parliamentary approval. He further alleged that data systems were manipulated to allow over 600,000 ineligible individuals—including government employees—to siphon off welfare funds intended strictly for impoverished widows, orphans, and destitute families. The opposition party demanded an immediate Supreme Court-monitored judicial inquiry into the management of BISP, the suspension of involved IT and administrative personnel, and the full recovery of the embezzled state funds.
Regional Unrest and Detainee Health
The PTI statement also addressed the ongoing civil and political unrest in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). Akram severely criticized the administrative handling of the region, alleging that the state’s reliance on force, arbitrary detentions, and aggressive rhetoric was fueling public alienation and destabilizing a highly sensitive territory.
Concluding his press briefing, the PTI Information Secretary announced that the party is preparing to initiate comprehensive legal proceedings against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the Government of Punjab, and prison authorities for deliberately endangering the health and life of incarcerated party founder Imran Khan. He reiterated the party’s demand for the immediate, unconditional release of all political prisoners, including senior leaders Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Dr. Yasmin Rashid.
